Professional Bull Riders to invade Salinas, California

SALINAS, CA – The Professional Bull Riders are returning to the Salinas Sports Complex for one heart-pounding night of bull riding at the Touring Pro Division event on Wednesday July 17th.

Tickets begin at $10 for children 2-12 and $25 for adults and are available at the Salinas Sports Complex Box Office at 1034 N. Main Street, www.CARODEO.com, and by telephone at 800-549-4989 or 831-772-6500.

The Salinas PBR Touring Pro Division event will feature some of the best bull riders in the world, including the reigning Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Champion and defending California Rodeo Salinas Champion Shane Proctor, ranked #5 on the Built Ford Tough Series, 2004 PBR World Champ Mike Lee who is currently ranked 10th on the Build Ford Tough Series Tour and Cody Nancy who is in 2nd place on the Built Ford Tough Series and currently on a hot streak, with 4 top 5 finishes this season and 4 Touring Pro Division victories: Lima, Ohio, Lewiston, Idaho, Park Rapids, Minnesota and Binford, North Dakota.

The all-time most money winning rider and 2 time PBR World Champion, Justin McBride, will be joining us in Salinas to provide live commentary from behind the chutes with the riders during the event. Justin will answer a few random fan tweets sent to the California Rodeo’s twitter account, @CaliforniaRodeo, and also provide the crowd at the event with a more in depth look at what it takes to get on the back of a bull. This is the first time ever that this concept of commentating live from the back of the chutes will be done at a Touring Pro Division event.

Get your tickets early to avoid standing in the long walk up line. The Coors Banquet Bull Xing Cantina will be open Wednesday night from 5pm to 1am with live music 9pm to 12am by The Courtney Lynn Band. There will be a DJ from 5pm to 9pm. The cover charge is $10 (not included in ticket price) and you must be 21 to enter.

The Touring Pro Event in Salinas is an exciting and unique event for showcasing your business. The California Rodeo Association would like to acknowledge the 2013 PBR Sponsors:

Official Tequila of the Salinas Professional Bull Riding

Tequila Alderete

Official Instant Replay Screen Sponsor

Jack in the Box

Corporate Sponsors

McCormick

Mission Linen

Major Sponsors

Monterey County Surveyors

Pettitt Lands

Salinas Valley Ford

Snow Seeds Organics

Famous Dave’s

Supporter Sponsor

3 & Company Etc.

Media Sponsors

Champion Media Sponsors

The Salinas Californian

Wolfhouse Radio Group

Corporate Media Sponsors

El Sol

KLOK Tricolor 99.9FM

The TPD provides an opportunity for riders to compete in PBR-sanctioned events to earn points toward qualifying for the nationally televised BFTS, which is comprised of the Top 35 bull riders in the world. The TPD is the developmental tour in which established veterans and newcomers compete against some of the most famous bucking bulls. More than 100 TPD events are sanctioned annually by the PBR, awarding almost $3 million in prize money.

The BFTS is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network and networks around the world. BFTS telecasts are produced for the PBR under a multi-year agreement with David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 34-time Emmy® Award winner and Peabody Award winner David Neal, who serves as executive producer.

The PBR will celebrate 20 years of competition with the 2013 season. PBR broadcasts reach more than half a billion households in 50 nations and territories around the world, and more than 2.5 million fans attend PBR events each year. PBR has awarded more than $120 million dollars in prize money over 20 years of competition, including a $1 million dollar bonus to the PBR World Champion each year.

The BFTS will make 26 stops in 18 states, beginning at world-famous Madison Square Garden in New York on Jan. 4—6. The season will conclude Oct. 23–27 in Las Vegas with the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals, where the PBR World Champion will be crowned and awarded a $1 million bonus. The richest bull riding event in the world, the World Finals has a total purse of more than $2 million.

About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
The world’s premier bull riding organization, the PBR, celebrates 20 years of competition with the 2013 season. In just two decades, the dream of 20 bull riders has become a global sports phenomenon with PBR broadcasts reaching more than half a billion households in 50 nations and territories around the world, and more than 2.5 million fans attending live events each year. PBR has paid out more than $120 million in earnings to its athletes, and 25 riders have earned more than $1 million, including Justin McBride with $5.5 million ― the most of any western sports athlete in history. For more information on the PBR, go to www.pbr.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at http://twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at www.YouTube.com/PBR.

About the California Rodeo Salinas

The California Rodeo Salinas will take place July 18-21, 2013. The California Rodeo Association is a not-for-profit organization that strives to preserve and promote the traditions of the California Rodeo Salinas and the West. We support the community and other non-profit organizations through the staging of the annual California Rodeo Salinas and other year round operations of the Salinas Sports Complex. Through donation of our facility, vending and fundraising opportunities during Rodeo and other events, the California Rodeo Association returns over $350,000 annually to local non-profits. For more information about the California Rodeo Salinas, log on to www.CARodeo.com or call the California Rodeo Office at 831-775.3100. ‘Like’ the California Rodeo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CARodeoSalinas or follow us on twitter @CaliforniaRodeo for updates, photos and more.